The Bulls finished the regular season as minor premiers and have already had two matches against Pirates separated by a total of three points this season.

Co-coach, Paul King, said last week’s break came at a good time.

“We’ve had some injuries during the season and it’s been 12 weeks of really tough footy so it was good to have a week off,” he said.

King expected points to be at a minimum this weekend.

“The games we’ve already played them there hasn’t been a lot of points scored; they’ve all been close so our defence will need to be up to the task.”

After the regular season, just one point separated the two sides and King expected Pirates to be near their best on Saturday.

“Their scrum and their lineout is good and they stick to their structures well,” he said.

“We’ll go in confident, but not overconfident because nothing is a given on a footy field.”

King said the experience some players had gained from playing first grade this year would be beneficial to his side.

“This weekend’s side is probably the best side we’ve fielded all year,” he said.

Co-coach Josh Connell said it was both a positive and a negative to have almost all players available.

“It’s never nice to have to tell someone they won’t be getting a game, but it’s also a good problem to have.”

Saturday’s game kicks off at 1.20pm at Danger Park, Narrabri.